Midco facts for kids
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Formerly
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Midcontinent Communications |
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| Joint venture | |
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1931, in Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Headquarters | Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
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Area served
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Minnesota North Dakota South Dakota Wisconsin Northeast Kansas |
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Key people
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Pat McAdaragh (CEO) |
| Products |
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| Owners |
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Midco, known as Midcontinent Communications until 2016, is a company that provides cable TV, internet, and phone services. They offer these services to homes and businesses. Midco serves people in North Dakota, South Dakota, much of Minnesota, and some communities in Kansas and Wisconsin. For larger businesses, Midco also provides direct fiber-optic communication services.
Midco's main office is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is a partnership, or joint venture, between Midcontinent Media and Comcast. Midco provides services to about 200 communities. This includes both cities and smaller towns, reaching over 1.2 million people.
Contents
Midco's Journey: From Theaters to Tech
Midcontinent Media started in Minneapolis, Minnesota, way back in 1931. It was first called the Welworth Theater Company. This company owned and ran movie theaters. They continued in the movie theater business for many years, until the 1990s. At that time, they sold their theaters to other companies.
Expanding into Broadcasting
In 1952, the company bought Midcontinent Broadcasting Company. This company owned radio stations KELO-AM and FM in Sioux Falls. After this purchase, the company's name changed to Midcontinent Media. They also bought the permit to build South Dakota's first TV station, KELO-TV. This TV station began broadcasting in 1953.
Midcontinent bought more radio and television stations over time. However, in the 1990s, they started to leave the broadcasting business. They sold their last radio stations in 2004.
Growing into Cable and Internet Services
Starting in the 1960s, Midco began to offer telephone and cable TV services. They focused on rural areas in the Upper Midwest. In 1999, Midcontinent Media joined forces with AT&T Broadband. AT&T Broadband was previously known as TCI. They combined their cable operations in the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Nebraska. This partnership created Midcontinent Communications. It was a joint venture between the two companies. This partnership continued even after Comcast bought AT&T Broadband.
Adding More Customers
In 2008, another company, Charter Communications, faced financial difficulties. They decided to sell some of their services in certain areas. Midcontinent Communications bought parts of Charter's cable systems in Minnesota. This included areas like Bemidji and International Falls. Starting in February 2009, Midcontinent Communications took over these services.
In June 2011, Midcontinent Communications grew even more. They acquired 33,000 new customers in Minnesota and Wisconsin from a company called US Cable.
A New Name and More Growth
On January 12, 2016, the company officially changed its name to Midco. They started using "MIDCO" in all capital letters with a new slogan, "Let's Go."
In October 2016, Midco expanded its services into Lawrence, Kansas. They acquired the cable system there from a company called Wide Open West.
Midco Sports: Your Local Sports Channel
Midco offers its own regional sports network called Midco Sports. It used to be known as MC23 and Midco Sports Network (MidcoSN). This channel shows NCAA Division I sports. It focuses on teams in the Summit League, Missouri Valley Football Conference, and Central Collegiate Hockey Association. They especially cover schools like South Dakota, South Dakota State University, North Dakota, and Augustana University.
Midco Sports is also the main broadcast partner for the NCAA Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. They show coverage of their basketball tournaments.
Tournament Coverage
Every February and March, Midco Sports provides full coverage of the NSIC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments. These games are played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The network broadcasts every game from the quarterfinals all the way to the championships.
After that, they cover the Summit League Men's and Women's tournament quarterfinals and semifinals. These games are held at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. Midco Sports does not show the championship games for these tournaments, as other networks have those rights.
Availability and Team
Midco Sports and its extra channel, Midco Sports 2, are available to all Midco cable customers. Other cable systems in the region also offer these channels through special agreements.
Midco Sports has a team of over 30 full-time people. This includes on-air talent and staff who work behind the scenes.
On Friday, April 21, 2023, a Minnesota Twins baseball game was shown on Midco Sports. This happened because another channel, Bally Sports North, had a scheduling conflict.
